The Awakening: Balance
by Black Rose Crystal
Summary: Her family, her friends, her world had been destroyed right in front of her. Now it is her turn to open the door but how can she help destroy the darkness that surrounds her and her friends when she wasn't even the chosen one?
1. Beginning

BRC: I don't own Kingdom hearts but I own the few original characters that appear in this. Please Read and Review

The Awakening: Balance

Black Rose Crystal

Chapter One: Beginning

'She could taste the salt in the air and could feel the sea breeze hit her face. She opened her eyes and there was Riku's beautiful form in front of her, a Paopu fruit held in his hands. He grins and his smile looks like 100,000 suns lighting up the sky…'

"That was the gayest sentence I have ever read, Ryler."

"Shut up, Marcel. What do you know about fan fiction?" The girl says glancing up to glare at her best friend, Marcel.

"Enough to know that that sentence was all kinds of gay. Anyway what's with the awesomely bad Kingdom Hearts fan fiction? I thought you said you had more respect for the series then to write anything that bad. Plus your original character feels kind of Mary Sue-ish." The boy sits beside the shorter girl on her porch, pulling off his hat to reveal the dyed red hair courtesy of Ryler and her connections at the local hair salon.

Ryler sighs and scribbles on the fan fiction with her pen, "Yeah I know. It's just that I'm so bored waiting for Birth By Sleep to come out that I've been trying to write too much. I guess I ran out of ideas for original characters and pulled out Mrs. Princess Sparkly bums here out of my ass. I need something to do, man. This summer has been sucking majorly."

"It's only just started Ry. It's going to start off boring but I'm sure something interesting will happen."

Ryler and her friend Marcel were two 20 year old gamers who loved Kingdom Hearts and were bored out of their minds while waiting for the newest game to come out and for the next game/anime convention to pop up. Since there was not much to do in their town other then go shopping, play video games with their fellow nerds and maybe go to the beach, they had become restless and didn't know what to do to make their summer better. It didn't help that their anti social personalities kept them from making friends easily, well that and the fact that Ryler was a bitch and Marcel was too shy to speak to most people about anything other than comics or video games.

Thus the two were stuck hanging out with each other in the small town called Eclipse, a town basically in the middle of nowhere that only had a few stores, a mall and fast food restaurants. The only saving grace for the town was the fact that there was a beach somewhat close to it but that meant in the summer the town got overrun by tourists and not many townsfolk wanted to deal with the Hawaiian shirt clad zombies.

"The only thing interesting is the storm that's coming in tonight…Now that is going to be amazing plus it will keep the zombies in for a while," Ryler grins punching the African-American boy in his arm, "And the waves will be epic for the next few days."

"I'm sure the surfing zombies think the same thing, Ry. You know you aren't going to be the only one out there trying to catch the "perfect one"…plus you know Sadira ain't gonna want to let you out in a storm." Marcel sighs when a gust of wind catches them and they both look at the sky to see the first dark clouds roll in, "It's coming in a lot faster than I thought."

"Yeah the weatherman said it wasn't supposed to rain until at least 12…"

Marcel nods then blinks, "Don't we have to work today?"

"Shit, yeah we do. Come on lets go before Arden has a cow about me being late." Ryler stands and dusts off the seat of her black skinny jeans and walks inside the small house, dodging the three running kids that were her siblings and walking to the woman standing behind the stove.

"I'm leaving mama. I'll be home soon."

The woman, a tall dark skinned female with long black hair and green eyes that Ryler inherited, turns and smiles at her oldest daughter, "Be good, little one. And be safe, this storm is going to be a bad one. I wish you two wouldn't be out in it."

"We aren't going to be out in it mama. We will just be driving in it until we get to Expressions then we will be safe and sound in the café all warm and toasty and what not," The short girl smiles when her mother ruffles her hair.

"Still…I'm afraid this storm will be a lot worse than people think. It does not feel normal little one. It feels evil almost." Sadira touches the pendant around her neck, a piece of metal in the shape of a cross with one bat wing and one angel wing on either side, a silver ring hung beside it. She takes it off and places the necklace around Ryler's neck and kisses the girl's forehead.

"What's this for? Dad gave you this."

Sadira smiles, "It will keep you safe, little one. I just wish you didn't have to go out tonight."

"You and Dad are the one who got me the job so I have to stick with it. Tell Dad that I said hi and I'll be back later okay?" Ryler picks up her messenger bag and pulls on her cropped white hoodie and almost walks outside before turning around, a strange feeling in forming in her stomach.

Marcel looks up at the girl from his spot checking his text messages, "What's up, Ry?"

Ryler frowns then looks at her family, "Um…hey guys. I love you all. I just wanted you to know that okay?"

Sadira smiles sadly, "I know Ry. We love you too."

Ryler blushes and nods before dodging the hugs of her two brothers and little sister and waves once then runs to dark green Mustang parked outside. She throws her bag into the back and cranks up the car, glancing back at the house once as Marcel gets in before driving off.

* * *

"It's really pouring down out there." An young man says to Ryler, looking up from his newspaper as she pours him a fresh batch of coffee. His name was Dr. Winston and was a regular at the Expressions Cafe and bookstore and was one of the few customers Ryler and Marcel could tolerate, even though the man was strange. Ryler had known the man all of her life, he had even babysat her when she was a child. She loved the strange man like a father and he seemed to treat both her and Marcel like the children he could not have.

"Yes sir it is. It will clear up in a few days and we'll be back to sunny skies and intense heat in no time." Ryler says smiling brightly, her hair tied back into a ponytail so it wouldn't fly in her face as she worked.

Dr. Winston shakes his head his blue eyes serious and worried looking, "No I don't think so. I think this storm is going to do a lot of damage…"

Ryler glances out of the window at the rain that pelted the streets outside. It didn't seem that bad at the moment, just a lot of rain and some strong wind. She didn't get what everyone was so worked up about; the town had been through worse storms before.

She just shakes her head and blows her white bangs away from her eyes, "If you say so doctor. I'll go get you some more cookies, sir."

The girl walks back to the kitchen and leans on the counter next to her boss, Arden. The emo male was sipping a coke and talking to Marcel who was cooking. Ryler blushes faintly as she stares at the tall male who was clad in a pair of tight jeans and a white shirt with a bloody heart on the front. His black hair fell into his gray eyes and in spite of his skinny appearance Ryler could see that his arms were quite muscular.

Arden was only three years older than her and was running the café in place of his father Kegan, who had left town for some time. Quiet, pale, and calm, Arden was different then Ryler in so many ways and yet the girl still had a huge crush on the older male and most everyone knew it except for Arden himself.

"Quiet day huh Ryli? I'm surprised you even drove today. I thought you hated driving." Arden smiles and glances at the girl out of the corner of his eye. The girl blushes faintly then pushes him in the arm.

"Yeah well wouldn't have missed work for the world. You couldn't bus tables without me, Hun." Ryler grins at the look the two boys send her.

"We only have four people out there right now. I'm sure I could have handled it…I'm glad you came in but I kind of wish you didn't…"

Marcel raises an eyebrow as he turns off the stove, "Why not? You hate us that much?"

"No. I don't. It's just that there might be a hurricane coming in and I don't want ya'll here when it hits but I don't want you out there driving either so you might be stuck here anyway."

Ryler grabs the plate of hamburgers and places it on the tray with Mr. Winston's cookies, "Hey at least you aren't gonna be stuck here with the annoying coworkers."

Arden shakes his head and snorts, "You are the annoying coworker, Hun."

The girl just laughs and takes the food out to the waiting customers.

* * *

"Okay people, the storm is getting stronger. I suggest we all stay in here until it passes over." Arden yells from his spot behind the bar, the television blaring the sounds of a severe storm warning. The only few people in the bar was a young couple, Dr. Winston, and him and his coworkers but Arden felt that he should be in charge all the same.

Marcel sighs from where he was moving the furniture away from the windows and glances over at Ryler, frowning when he sees the girl engrossed in a video game, "Is this really the time to beat heartless?"

"It's always a time to beat heartless, duh." Ryler rolls her eyes and then yelps when Dr. Winston snatches the game away from her and looks at it.

"Heartless huh? Strange little creatures aren't they?" The man says handing the girl back her game, "craving something they don't have of their own."

"What do you know about heartless, sir? Have you played Kingdom Hearts before?" Marcel says walking over to the bar where Ryler and Dr. Winston sat.

"Something like that yes…I think its sad how heartless and Nobodies are created. Lacking an organ which gives a person their emotions and the ability to love and feel love…" Dr. Winston trails off when he notices a small boy running through the storm towards the café, "Isn't that your brother?"

Ryler turns and see's her brother Kyle at the door and jumps down, running towards it with Arden. Arden opens the door and picks the boy up, motioning for Marcel to get him a towel.

"What are you doing out in the storm? That was dangerous and stupid!" Ryler cries out as the boy gets himself dried off.

"Its mom…she's…been taken. Dad was fighting them off but he sent me to go find you. He said you…had to go to her."

"What do you mean taken, by what?"

Kyle looks up at her and she winces at the tears in his green eyes, "Mom called them …the heartless. She's been taken by the heartless."

Ryler stares at the young boy and shakes her head, "Heartless aren't real. I told you that. What really happened to mom?"

Kyle frowns and grabs the girl's hand pulling her to the door and throwing it open. To the surprise and horror of everyone, they saw that out of the storm and shadows, what appeared to be real live heartless were appearing.

"No way…they are real? How did you get pass them?!"

"Dad said they wouldn't touch me and they didn't. Anyway they took mom away, you have to save her Ry!"

Ryler frowns and picks Kyle up and hugs him before handing him to Dr. Winston, "Watch him for me. I have to go find my family."

Marcel and Arden watch as the girl picks up her messenger bag and places her DS inside of it before grabbing a broom and snapping the head of it off, then she pulls her hood up and runs outside into the rain. Marcel shouts after him and grabs a nearby mop while Arden glances back at the other people in the café before breaking off the leg of a table.

"Take care of Kyle for her okay Dr. Winston? Ya'll watch the café and keep safe." He says then runs out, hitting the attacking heartless with the table leg. It doesn't do much but it keeps them at bay while he runs up to follow Marcel and Ryler.

The three teens end up at Ryler's house which looks as if it has been robbed and they run through the wreckage to look for Ryler's father and siblings but they were nowhere to be seen.

"Why is this happening?" Ryler drops to her feet, her hands going into her hair, "This is crazy and…"

Marcel halls her to her feet, "Come on I'm sure your family is fine. Kyle made it out and I bet they did as well. We just have to find your mother."

"Guys…I think I know where she is…" Arden motions them towards the door and points out into the distance towards a bright light in the center of the storm, "I just have a weird feeling she's there."

"This is no time for weird feelings, Arden! I just want my mom!" Ryler shakes off the tears, "How are we going to get out there? There are heartless everywhere and we barely have weapons."

"Sora did it with only a wooden sword." Marcel heads towards the door and holds out his makeshift mop handle staff, "We can do this for your mom, Ry."

Ryler frowns then nods, tightening the straps of her messenger bag before twirling the broom handle and hitting herself in the face, "Okay so that wasn't as cool as I thought it would be….ow. Anyway let's do this!"

Arden resists the urge to laugh and once again they head out into the storm.

Rain pours down upon them as they head toward the one spot of light through the waves of heartless that surrounded them. Scratches cover their skin and it was a wonder they survived that long running from the shadow heartless that pursued them. When they finally reach the light they see that it went from the sky to the ground and floating in the dead center of it was Ryler's mother, tentacles of darkness twisting around her skin and heartless circling the light but unable to get close.

Ryler rushes towards it but the light forces her back, "Mom!"

"It is time, little one. This world will be destroyed and you must be ready to defend yourself in the battle that shall erupt." Sadira's voice seems cold and lifeless, the shadows seeming to pull the color from her body.

"What's going on Mom? Why is this happening? What's wrong with you?!" She rushes towards the light but it forces her away from her mother yet keeps her and the two boys in its protective barrier.

"I am doing all I can to protect this world, to keep the heart of this world from being consumed by darkness. The wars between darkness and light have leaked into our dimension and I, its protector, cannot keep the barrier closed any longer. That is why you must leave this place and be safe. You must go out into the other worlds to help fight in the war."

"Why me? Why do you have to be the protector of this place if it is just going to be destroyed anyway? Can't we protect it together?"

"No. You are the child of darkness, I cannot keep you here any longer then I have. You and your friends will find what you need in the other worlds but this world, this star, shall go dim before the night is over. I'm sorry it has to be this way but this is what has been foreseen." The light around Sadira grows brighter still but the darkness on her body continue to pull the color from her until the only color on her was her bright green eyes, the rest of her form gray and dull.

"Sadira, what are you talking about? None of this should be happening, this isn't real!" Marcel yells and Sadira smiles.

"It is very real, future mage. Now I ask you two to protect my daughter during her journey. It's going to be hard enough as is," Sadira eyes glow brighter and a strange wind seems to blow around her, going in the opposite direction of the winds coming from the storm, "You will find the people you need in the other worlds don't worry."

"Mom!" Ryler screams as the light grows brighter and runs through the pillar of light to wrap her arms around the woman who touches her head.

"Be good, little child of darkness. It is your turn to open the door." Sadira touches the cross pendent on Ryler's neck and the light glows into painful levels and the last thing Ryler saw before everything went white were the glowing green eyes of her mother.

"I've been having these weird thoughts lately. Like is any of this for real…or not?"

BRC: Please Review. I would love feedback on this.


	2. Dive into the Heart

BRC: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or the Dive into the Heart Sequence. I do own the original characters.

Chapter Two: Dive into the Heart

It felt like she was falling through water.

No, it was almost an ocean of some kind yet it wasn't, she saw this when she opened her eyes and saw not water but darkness and the platform of stained glass reaching up towards her. She feels herself turn upright and her bare feet touch the cool glass. As she steps on it, it lights up and birds fly pass her, not doves but ravens, into the darkness. Glancing down at the glass, Ryler sees that it was a dark blue with a design of the character Roxas from Kingdom hearts, his eyes closed as if he was sleeping. In smaller circles in front of him there were the characters Axel, Sora, Riku, and Kairi with a background of what appeared to be Twilight town.

"So much to do, so little time…take your time. Don't be afraid. The door is still shut…Now step forward. Can you do it, Ryler?"

The girl blinks and looks around but see's only darkness, the dim light coming from the platform she stood on. She takes a slow step forward and the platform glows a little brighter.

"You and your friends will open the door to the light. You have been chosen to wield a great power, but as everyone knows with great power comes great responsibility. Do you accept this responsibility?"

Ryler frowns some, the black dress that covered her form swishing in the slight breeze, "What is this Spiderman? Really disembodied voice, we're quoting Spiderman?"

"Do you accept this responsibility, child of darkness?" The voice asks again, sounding somewhat annoyed.

"Sure I guess so…"

"You can't guess. You must decide if this is what you wish. If you are strong enough to bear the weight that shall be placed upon you then you can always saw no…"

Ryler remembers what her mother said about it being her turn to "open the door" and shakes her head, "No, I can do this. Just tell me where my friends are. Did they make it out okay?"

"Your friends are fine. They had to go to their own journey to their own heart to prepare for the battle that looms ahead. The power to change the outcome of the battle sleeps within you. If you give it form, it will give you strength. Choose well."

The platform glows and in front of her appear three altars, one had an intricate sword, another a long staff with a rose on top, and the final a shield with a cross and two wings decorating it. Ryler glances at each item then down at the design of Roxas before stepping forward to examine the sword and she smiles when she sees that hanging from its hilt was a cross shaped pendant.

"The power of the warrior, invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction, Is this the power you seek?"

Ryler smiles, finally realizing what she was going through and takes the hilt in her hand and jumps off of the platform, "Let me guess I have to give something up as well?"

"Yes. Choose wisely young warrior."

The sword disappears in her hand and she glances at the shield and the staff before thinking back to the game and she walks over to the staff and touches it. The staff glows then shatters in her hand.

"You give up the strength in magic? Strange, I would have thought otherwise for you, young one."

"Yeah well I never liked magic anyway…" Ryler yelps as the platform shakes and shatters. She falls down onto another platform, this one dark green with an image of her mother, with her and her friends in little circles to the left. Her mother held a white rose in her hand and was dressed in white but black vines wrapped around her hands and arms.

"Mother…"

"Your mother has protected you and your world for a long time but now it's time for you to protect others. You have gained the power to fight but you must learn how to use this power."

Shadow heartless and Nobodies sink up out of the floor and she takes a step back before holding out her hand, a weapon appearing in her hand. But to her surprise it wasn't the Keyblade like she had written about in her fanfiction, it was a gunblade.

"What tha…oh this is awesome." Ryler smiles and wraps her hands around the hilt, darting forward and slicing through the creatures. To her astonishment she only tripped over her own feet once.

When the creatures disappear the light around them brightens and a circle of light appears on the floor. Ryler takes a step back then watches as a silver and black door appears out of nowhere.

"Be careful. That door holds what you seek but beyond it you will have to fight hard. But do not be afraid and never stop looking forward."

Ryler pulls the door open only to see another platform with Roxas on it and a bunch of stained glass steps. She sighs and runs up it, slashing at the nobodies and heartless that appeared with the gunblade. Inwardly she knew that this would probably have been a lot easier if she had gotten the keyblade but there was something comforting about swinging a heavy blade through the body of monsters. She gathers the dropped munny and glowing green orbs, smiling when she feels the light that meant she had gained a level surge through her.

Finally she ends up at another door and goes through it, ending up on a blue platform with both Sora and Roxas on it, the Oblivion keyblade in Roxas's hand and the Oathkeeper in Sora's, their blades crossed. Their heads were bent and their eyes were closed.

Ryler looks around the darkness and yells out for Marcel and Arden when she hears a low groaning sound. A sound that did not sound anything like a heartless or a nobody. She turns and sliding out of the stained glass almost like a ghost was what appeared to be an angel.

The being was genderless and large, its wings spreading to both ends of the platform. The being's hair was long and white with black streaks and one of its wings was black and bat like while the other was the purest white and covered in feathers. The being's skin was like ivory while its cold eyes were pure white yet somehow evil looking. In the angel's hands was a large sword and it was covered in long black robes while golden cuffs adorned its neck, wrists, upper arms and ankles. It seemed to be made from light though there was something almost wicked about it. Light poured from its body and made the area around it brighter.

The being steps forward and Ryler tries to run away but a barrier of light surrounds the platform and keeps her on it.

"The only way to leave is to fight, child of darkness." The angel says holding out its sword and Ryler realizes that it had been the Angel that had guided her through the Awakening.

"Why are you doing this?" Ryler says summoning her Gunblade.

It smiles, and Ryler couldn't decide if the smile was cruel and mocking or simply a smile, "You must be tested, dark one. To see if you are the one meant to fight in this war and to see what side you will choose."

She runs forward with the gunblade and there was a bright flash of light and she sees that she was held in the air with the angel's face smiling down at her. She throws the weapon at it and smiles when she sees blood erupt from its forehead.

The bonds disappear and she lands on her butt, rolling towards her fallen blade and grabbing it. Then she slashes at the angel's feet, screaming when she was kicked away. Ryler slowly stands back up and tries again but the angel brings down its own sword on top of her own and she drops to one knee as she attempts to push it back.

"Submit, dark one. You can't win." The angel says, its voice booming in her head and light leaking through its blade into hers, the energy of it burning her hands.

Ryler smiles slowly, "Fuck you. I can always try."

The angel smiles when it sees the girl's green eyes turn black and its sword was pushed away by a blast of energy. Ryler dashes towards the angel but a bright light surrounds her just as she was going to strike the being's chest and the world is surrounded by darkness before brightening into an extremely bright light, just like the one that had surrounded her mother.

"You have taken the first steps, Ryler, now all you have to do is wake up. Good luck, little one and remember all darkness is not evil…"

The world fades away and Ryler feels herself falling backwards once more, inky black darkness surrounding her. She shuts her eyes and just lets herself fall.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

BRC: Please review! Thank you for reading!


	3. Everything's Better With Zombies

BRC: You should know i don't own Kingdom Hearts by now. Ryler and Asylum are mine though. Please Review at the end.

Chapter Three: Everything's Better with Zombies

'There she was, staring at her beloved from the shore of an island and she runs forward just as he turns around and reaches for her. But it is not Riku who's hand is outstretched it is Roxas, his blue eyes shining as she tries to reach him but waves slam into them both and she is pushed away from him.'

Snapping out of her strange dream, Ryler stared down at the gunblade that had appeared in her hands, the silver blade glinting in the dim light. Her fingers trail down the cool metal and she smiles at the etching of a wolf that marked the sides of the blade. Her fingers shift to touch the shotgun styled hilt and the trigger then trail down at the cross shaped pendant with the mismatched wings on either sides of it.

"Asylum, I'm calling you Asylum," Ryler smiles as the word appears in the smooth black hilt in sliver and holds the weapon in her hand once more, touching the tip to the ground, "Asylum means protection. My parents taught me that."

The sound of movement snaps her out of her thoughts and she glances around, fingers tightening around the wood, her index finger twitching against the trigger. She could hear them, the heartless scampering around her; their claws scratching against the pavement. She presses her back against the wall she had woken up against, her eyes gazing out into the darkness that loomed at the edge of the alleyway. She holds her weapon up shakily, still unused to its weight and it showed through the quivering of her arms. She half expected the creepy angel from her dreams to show up again but doubted that it would.

Slowly, Ryler steps forward, biting at her lip in fear of what hid among the shadows. She knew that whatever world she was in, there had to be Heartless or even Nobodies wandering around but she had to find her friends. They would make things make sense in the craziness that seemed to surround her. She just had to get over the fear of the darkness first.

Stepping forward she readies herself to see heartless staring at her but the glowing eyes that surrounded her did not belong to heartless but to...

"Zombies. Holy fuck those are zombies!" Ryler screams and holds out her gunblade and pulls the trigger with her eyes closed. A loud bang fills the air and she opens her eyes, expecting to see all of the undead destroyed but they were still there, their blank eyes staring at her.

"Fuck..." She tightens her hands on the hilt and with a whimper she charges forward.

* * *

Tired and covered in something that she didn't want to know what it really was; Ryler collapses near a building, a strange beeping filling the air. From glancing around at the scenery while running, she guessed she had ended up at The World that Never Was, a creepier zombie filled version of The World that Never Was, that didn't seem to great as time continued to pass.

The sound off footsteps causes her to grab her weapon once more and she slowly stands, her body aching from all the running she had done. She gets ready to attack more zombies, her arms shaking as she lifted up her weapon, this time in fear but something runs into her and causes her to fall onto the ground, a body lying on top of her.

"Damn this is clichéd as hell." She mumbles while flailing around, waiting for the rotten teeth to bite into her jugular and infect her with zombie spit but when she feels nothing but soft hair tickling her skin she glances up into a pair of blue eyes.

"You aren't a zombie...heartless thing." The blond boy says standing up and helping her up as well.

Ryler dusts off her skirt and then twitches when she realizes that her whole outfit had changed but ignores that to stare at Roxas who stood before her, "What happened and ...how do you exist?"

"Who are you and how do you even know about me?"

"I'm Ryler and it's a long story, trust me." Ryler says glancing around the boy for more of the undead then back at him when she sees none, taking in his strange new outfit and guessed that he was somewhat taller than he was in the second game.

Roxas wore a pair of baggy black and white pants, a white shirt with a black and white checkered pattern on the bottom the front and a black hoodie with angel wings on the back. His armband and finger band things were still on and his shoes were the same. His hair was a little longer as well.

"Well we don't really have time at the current moment but I'm sure we can talk about it later. I'm Roxas by the way." He says pulling his hood back up and summoning his keyblades. Ryler can hear more zombies slowly approach and picks up her fallen gunblade.

She slashes her blade through the creatures, once more. She found that if she pushed the trigger while slashing it sent energy through the sword, causing a vibration through the body of the zombie and made more damage. She actually found herself smiling as she slashed through the strange mix of undead and heartless, for someone who wasn't very athletic in her former life she was doing pretty good.

Roxas grabs her hand and pulls her forward, leading her through the streets to an group of buildings. He tests a door then holds his keyblade towards it and unlocks the door with his magic pulling her inside then locking the door behind him. Together they push furniture to the door then he casts protection before collapsing on the ground.

Ryler falls as well, her body shaking somewhat as she realizes she had been fighting actual zombies instead of the Heartless that had taken over her world. She pants softly as the tears begin to fall, the horror of the situation getting to her.

A hand is placed on the top of her head and she is pulled into Roxas's arms. He sighs some at her and keeps his arms around her, letting her tears stain his shirt.

"This is what happens when Sora is taken...," He whispers, "He and Kairi, were kidnapped and Naminé and I were separated from them somehow, left with only half of our hearts. The Destiny Islands are gone and Naminé, Riku, and I were all separated. I ended up here, where I was first born."

"How?" She tries to pull away but he keeps his arms around her, needing comfort himself.

"This woman, she wielded strange magic. It was like light but tainted somehow and she didn't use Heartless to take the hearts of the world. She made weird versions of heartless, these monsters made of tainted light whose bodies were slowly being destroyed while their hearts were completely controlled by darkness. These monsters craved the light in people's hearts and the tastes of human flesh."

"Hence why they look like Zombies. What did this woman look like?"

Roxas looks down at her and frowns, "A lot like you actually."

"What?"

He shakes his head, "Her hair was pure white but she had the same brown skin. Her eyes were black though, fully black. She looked a little older then you but you resemble her. You don't feel like she did though."

"What do you mean?"

He sighs softly, "She, her heart, felt like pure evil. I felt it when she reached into Sora and pulled me out. Her energy was so cold, so dead, and yours isn't like that..."

"Roxas...that..." The sound of his breathing tells her that he had fallen asleep and she pulls away from him to curl up and hold her gunblade to herself.

"It's not supposed to be like this. Mom, what did you do?"


	4. Insanity

BRC: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters that appear in the game. I do own the O.C.s though

Chapter Four: Insanity

"We were supposed to protect her. We failed." Arden moans from where Marcel was healing his arms. His arms had gotten really torn up from the attack from heartless they met in the strange world they ended up in. Somehow it seemed that Marcel had magic abilities and could cast the basic level spells with the Bo staff that appeared as his weapon while he simply had a shield.

It didn't help much during a battle but it protected him and Marcel from the monsters and he was slowly working on new moves to use it with battle with. He enjoyed the fact that he was in the game especially since it made him feel like he was a knight of sorts, searching for a princess to protect. Except the princess he wanted to protect was not his friend Ryler but his favorite character from the game, Kairi.

"The magic that Sadira used might have accidentally placed us in different worlds. We will find her soon, as soon as we find out how to locate her. Calm down." Marcel whispers as he glances around at his surroundings. Finally the location comes to him and he smiles.

"I know where we are! Look around, this is the old castle at Hollow Bastion."

Arden grins, "So we're in Radiant Garden. That means we can meet Leon and his friends and maybe Kairi is here!"

"Exactly, wait...why do you care so much about Kairi? Since when do you even play Kingdom Hearts?" Marcel says twirling his staff in the air then heads slowly towards the Castle gate, his weapon ready for the heartless that he knew would attack.

They eventually reach the Bailey where a shift in the air alerts them to the coming enemies. They both get into ready positions but nothing would get them ready for the sight of what appeared to be undead humans shuffling towards them.

"This obviously isn't the normal Kingdom Hearts." The African-American boy mumbles, growling under his breath.

"Cast a Fire spell!" Arden yells slashing through some with his whip sword.

Marcel does as his friend had yelled, casting fire magic only for balls of fire to briefly circle around the boy, "Well that isn't as useful as I thought it would be."

"Do something!"

A pair of chakrams appear and slices through the heads of the zombies and the undead disappear in wisps of shadows. Standing at the end of the Bailey seems to be Axel though his hair was shorter and he wore a tight red shirt, a sleeveless black hoodie, black pants and boots.

Leaning against the wall, the man smiles, "I thought you guys might have needed some help. You wouldn't have happened to see a short brown haired kid around here did you? I've wanted to say hi to him since I woke up."

* * *

"Does it ever get sunny here?" Ryler says tugging up the hood of her jacket up as she stares out the window, rain pouring down outside the house they had taken over. They had the basic essentials here but they both knew they would have to leave the house to search for their friends but neither wanted to go back into the fray so soon.

"No. Not it's always night or raining; then again this isn't a place for happy days." Roxas says lying with his arm over his face, his head lying on her legs. Ryler wasn't that comfortable with the weird closeness that seemed to happen between them, the boy always ending up somewhat close to her in some way but she knew that he had to want some comfort. Since part of his heart had been taken from him and most of his friends were well gone, he needed something and she was the closest thing around that was human. Well human and not trying to claw out people's hearts.

Like the strange creatures just outside their door.

"We're going to have to leave sometime aren't we, to find our friends and to get you back where you need to be," She sighs softly, "The problem is how."

"I...am not sure if I still have my teleporting powers. They haven't really worked since I came back. We can try fighting our way through the zombies but where to go?"

"What would Sora do..." Ryler mumbles then she smiles and sees that Roxas's eyes had lit up as well.

"Find the leader..."

"I was going to say boss battle but that's good too."

* * *

"So you're looking for your friend as well? The missing friend thing seems to happen a lot around here..." Axel says placing his arms behind his head as they walk. Heartless and undead didn't seem to appear so much in town but that could have been due to the defense system and through the efforts of the Restoration Committee.

"We've noticed. But how can we find them? We have no way off this world and no way to locate them..." Arden growls tossing his shield at a random heartless that wanders by him.

"Don't be so sure..." Marcel points in the distance and the other two boys see what appeared to be Riku talking to Leon.

"I remember him a little. He was with Sora. He must know where he is!" Axel grins and runs forward, the other two boys running behind him.

Riku raises an eyebrow, summoning his keyblade when the trio run up.

"Easy, Riku. What's the matter?" Leon says. (A.N. Leon's characterization is not my forte)

"Axel tried to separate Sora and Roxas before and would probably try to do it again. And he's even gained more accomplices." The silver haired boy growls and everyone sees that there were bags under his eyes and his body was wounded in places.

"Riku, I think you might need to rest and then explain what's going on and...Who are you guys?"

"I'm Axel. I know Sora somewhat. These are Marcel and Arden; they ended up here and are looking for their friend."

Leon sighs, "Great it's happening all over again. Come on, let's go into Merlin's house and get Riku patched up then everyone can explain their problems."

* * *

Meanwhile the search for the Boss Fight has begun, the two teens wandering through the rain to find the leader of the pack but it seemed that zombies didn't enjoy going out in rain while their heartless counterparts saw no trouble in rushing through the dark storm to try to attack the keyblade wielder.

"Is there any way you can turn that off?" Ryler yells as she and Roxas end up back to back, heartless circling around them.

"Do you want to take on Heartless by yourself then?" The boy responses, twirling his weapons in the air while crouching down.

"Not especially, no."

"Then stop complaining and start fighting."

The two dive forward, their feet sliding through puddles as they slice through their opponents. Once again Ryler found herself thinking about how much easier it would have been if she had a strong enough heart to wield the legendary weapon but she doubted it would have been as much fun.

The heartless mob slowly gets destroyed though most just skitter away, a strange change in their demeanor happening rapidly. Ryler glances at Roxas who just shrugs.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth I guess. Now how do we find the leader?"

"Well the leader would be the biggest, baddest monster here so I bet it's roaming around here somewhere."

"Great...but once again how do we find said leader."

The girl taps her chin, "Hmm...In horror movies the main people are usually attacked when they are a: Having Sex, b: blond or c: a minority of some type..."

Roxas raises an eyebrow and they look at each other.

"Awkward. Well we have two out of three so I bet we are going to be attacked right about...."

A loud roar fills the area and the stench of rotting flesh floats towards them in with the storm's wind.

"Now." Ryler holds up Asylum just as a huge zombie shuffles up to them, its glassy eyes staring at them and its mouth hanging open and showing rotten teeth. It seemed to be lured there by the keyblade just like the heartless, or either wanted to eat their flesh.

Darkness oozed off of the zombie's body like slime while streams of shadows floated in the air like steam. Its skin was a gray greenish color with veins of black and its skin hung off its body, rotting and ripped away in places. Heartless like claws extended from its hands and a heartless symbol was on its chest. What little hair it had was stringy and gray and pieces of fabric covered parts of its body but not where it mattered most. They both could see that the creature was supposed to have been male though what it had left was not pretty what with rot and what appeared maggots crawling from it. Green slime oozed from its mouth and it towered over the two.

"Is that..."

Ryler nods, gulping slightly, "I...think I'm going to have to barf and try not to piss myself."

"Oh it's not that bad. It's scarier than some of the things that Sora and I have fought but...not by much." Roxas says then the creature roars at them, pushing them back some with its breath.

Ryler raises an eyebrow at it and turns around to run away only to have Roxas to grab her hood and pull her back before holding up his keyblades.

"Being part of Sora has taught me that we never run away from a battle. No matter what the enemy is or how strong it appears to be."

The girl glances at him then at Asylum before holding up the blade, "Most of your enemies weren't ugly old zombies but fine."

The monster seems to smile then charges towards them, its weight shaking the ground. It slams its hands before them causing shock-waves and the two barely dodge out of the way in time.

It, which Ryler was mentally calling Bubba Zombie, throws his head back and expels green slime out of its mouth at them and Roxas casts a reflect spell just in time, the slime hitting it and flying back towards the creature. The two teens rush forward and slice at the creature, its skin breaking open and releasing large black maggot creatures with heartless symbols on their backs.

The maggot creatures jump at the two warriors, opening mouths that show razor sharp teeth and Ryler screams.

"Maggots don't work that way!" The girl says cringing and twirling Asylum in circles, slicing the worm-like things. One latches on to her shoe and she pulls the trigger, narrowly missing her own foot and spraying herself with ooze as she gets thrown back a little with the recoil.

"Wait. Your gunblade it's a shotgun type right?" Roxas yells as he jumps into the air and uses a blizzard spell on the maggots before slicing through them.

"Yeah so..." Ryler blinks at the look Roxas gives her before stabbing her blade into Bubba Zombie's hand which was trying to grab her, "Oh...that might work."

Bubba Zombie lets out a deafening screech and the two of them fall to the ground holding their ears. It then starts slashing at them both with its claws, a lot faster and stronger than the regular zombies they had seen in town.

Wincing some at the wounds she received, Ryler picks up and holds Asylum like a shotgun and closes her left eye, aiming at the Zombie before shooting. Too bad her shot was way off and she narrowly misses shooting Roxas's arm off.

The boy glares briefly at her while casting blizzard again but this time on the creature's legs causing it to fall forward. Ryler steadies her aim and pulls the trigger once more, the energy flowing through her weapon and hitting the creature in the head.

The creature's head explodes and the rest of its body slowly turns to dust, its fingers twitching as they disappear. The maggot creatures begin to disappear with tiny screeches as well and Ryler looks at Roxas.

"Now how do we get out of here?"

Roxas smiles a little and Ryler notices how much he really looks like Sora, "Through Twilight Town of course."

~~*~*~~*~*~~

BRC: Please Review. Feedback is greatly appreciated even if it's just criticism or grammar corrections. Thank you for reading!


	5. Off to see the Wizard

BRC: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Please Read and Review.

Chapter Five: Off to see the Wizard

"Arden...Come to me Arden."

Arden snapped awake from where he had fallen asleep in one of the armchairs in Merlin's house. Seeing that everyone was tired from fighting the creatures, Merlin and Aerith had ordered everyone to go to sleep and that all explanations would be handled the next morning. That revelation didn't sit too well with Riku who seemed stressed and impatient for some strange reason but he knew that no one said no to Aerith. Arden had decided to help around the house and ended meeting the beautiful but shell shocked Naminé, nobody of his adored Kairi. The young girl had traveled with Riku and he tried to become closer to her but, much to his disappointment, she had taken to Marcel instead. It seemed that the two quiet teens both enjoying sketching and were quite alike.

Instead of him it was Marcel Naminé leaned on when she wasn't around Axel or Riku. He had tried to get the blond girl's attention but all it took was a smile and a random comment from Marcel to have the girl to giggle and turn away from him. Arden couldn't help that he was awkward around girls, sure he seemed cool around Ryler but he had known the girl most of his life. Yes he knew that she had a crush on him but ignored it, Ryler was his friend and Coworker but he couldn't bring himself to have feelings for the younger girl. He wanted someone more innocent and less weird he guessed.

With a glare in Marcel's direction, Arden stands up yawning somewhat as he looks around. He looks out of the window to see a strange glowing and when he squints he can see that it was his beloved Kairi! Maybe he could win her heart after all.

He momentarily considers waking the others but something in the back of his mind tells him not to, that he wanted to meet Kairi all on his own and he sneaks out of the house towards the glowing apparition.

"I've been waiting for you, Arden. I've needed you for so long." The Kairi apparition says smiling beautifully. If he had been in his right frame of mind he would have seen that the light around her wasn't all that normal. It was bright but seemed to lack something. He would have also wondered how she knew his name in the first place.

"Me? Why would you have been waiting for me? I thought you and Sora..." He trails off when 'Kairi' touches his lips with her finger.

"Hush, my beloved. Come with me. I will explain everything in due time," 'Kairi' takes his hands, "I just ask you this...will you do anything for me?"

"Of course, anything for you!" Arden shouts and Kairi seems to wince but she smiles and wraps her arms around him.

"Then forget about them," She waves her hand towards Merlin's house and lays her head on his chest, "Come with me. Protect me. Become my chosen one."

Arden pets the girl's hair and nods and Kairi pulls him into a dark alleyway and pushes him against a wall, "What are we..."

Kairi touches his lips again then smiles, standing on her tip toes. It was then he noticed that her eyes weren't their normal beautiful blue but dark and black; however, he didn't really care at the moment.

"Become part of me, Arden." Kairi's lips touch his and he moans, kissing her back fiercely. He didn't expect her to chuckle but once again he didn't care and his eyes slide close in pleasure.

Kairi's features slowly start to change and the light wraps around Arden's body, pinning him to the wall. He doesn't even try to struggle, just trying to pull her closer against him. It had been a long time since he had had physical contact with a member of the opposite sex. He swore he felt like his energy was slowly becoming drained and he sighs more and opens his eyes and sees not Kairi but some older woman, her hair long and white and her skin dark, wearing a long white dress and a black cloak.

He tries to struggle away but she was stronger, pinning him to the ground and keeping their lips pressed together. With a moan she pulls away a few inches and to his surprise a thin line of light keeps their lips together. The woman starts to suck the light into her body and his body felt weaker and weaker as it left him.

From his half lidded gaze Arden could see the undead hordes shuffle behind the woman and stand there almost as if waiting for a signal.

When Arden's body was pale and barely standing, the woman pulls away and Arden see's how much she looked like Sadira, Ryler's mother. That freaked him out a little but he liked the way her lips felt against his.

"The light in your heart tastes lovely, not as pure as Sora's of course but delicious all the same. It's too bad it was just as tainted as mine..." The woman licks her lips and smiles.

"Who...are you?"

"I am called Viviana. I'm sure you have met my darling sister Sadira and her pathetic child. I believe it was she who sent you here with my son."

"Son?"

Viviana nods, "Marcel. It's a pity that Sadira never told him about the blood that runs through his veins. I would love to have him on my side but I doubt he would come, what with him being loyal to that pathetic darkling spawn of my sister's. But you my beloved, you will come with me won't you?"

"Why should I? Why do you want me?" Arden struggles but the light continues to hold him.

"Because I have your beloved Kairi, I wanted to drain her of her energy but with her being a princess of heart I can't quite touch her and because of this Sora remains out of my control. But you could do it for me and keep the princess as your own," Viviana smiles, cold and cruel, "And you do want the princess, don't you?"

"She is beautiful..."

"I can give you power, dear Arden. A weapon that is much more powerful than that pathetic shield. A true weapon fit for a knight to protect his princess with. She would adore you, Arden."

"You think so?" Arden says dazed. He wasn't sure how the woman knew his deepest desires but he didn't care at the moment. He felt tired yet the woman seemed to fuel him. He wanted to taste her light again but he also wanted Kairi, just Kairi.

"Enough to give you her heart so come with me and fight for the light. Fight for me dear Arden and I will show you light's true power..."

Arden feels himself nodding for some strange reason, staring into the woman's black eyes as she smiles. Viviana wraps her arms around him again, holding him to her chest even though he was much taller than her.

"What are you..." he finds himself mumbling and a strange light surrounds them both, very different from the pure light of Sadira.

"I'm just a sorceress, dear, a sorceress who has a lot of plans for you," Viviana smiles again and the last thing Arden could remember thinking about was how sharp the woman's teeth happened to be, "Welcome to the Rebirth Organization."

* * *

Marcel sighed as he ran his fingers through his Afro, his normal cap sitting on his lap. He couldn't believe that Arden had disappeared during the night and that now he was truly alone in a strange land.

Naminé smiles a little and touches his shoulder, "Everything will be alright, sir. Don't worry."

He tried to smile back feeling somewhat calmer but Riku ruins the mood by speaking.

"Everything is not going to be alright. Sora and Kairi are gone, Naminé! Kidnapped by some crazy woman who happens to control heartless and the undead and now more people are disappearing! I'm not sure what to do."

"Okay Riku, explain yourself. You didn't make much sense last night and you aren't making any this morning." Leon says before taking a sip of his coffee.

"We had been on the Kids' island late at night, looking at the stars and wondering about the note that the king had sent us a few years earlier. Kairi said she noticed something was off about the night and we saw two figures. One was a woman wearing a white dress and a long black cloak. This woman had long white hair, dark skin, fully black eyes. The other was a large pale man wearing a fully black suit who almost seemed to be her bodyguard of sorts. The woman summoned a scythe while the man turned his hands into blades. Neither of them spoke but attacked us all the same.

"We tried to fight our best but they were stronger than us and used a strange magic that seemed almost like light. I ended up being stuck fighting the man while Sora and Kairi fought the woman who surrounded her battle area with a force field of light. Somehow the woman overpowered my friends and knocked them out.

" I could only watch in horror as she reached into their bodies and somehow separated Roxas and Naminé from them. I tried to get towards them but the last thing I remember as I ran to my friends was the feeling of something large hitting me and the strange light surrounding the pair again but this time Sora and Kairi were held in their arms"

Riku takes a shaky breath before continuing, "When the light faded Naminé and I were here in Hollow...Radiant Garden and Roxas was nowhere to be found. I decided to search for you all to ask for help."

"Two of the keyblade's chosen were taken...and I'm betting that woman has something to do with the undead that are appearing as well as Marcel's friends disappearing as well. The problem is, figuring out how to fight her," Merlin frowns, "Hmm...maybe Yen Sid will help."

"Yen Sid?" Axel says raising an eyebrow.

"He is the magician who taught the King his magic!" Marcel says with a smile and everyone raises an eyebrow at him, "I do my research..."

"I can send you there but it will take some time. I wouldn't suggest going alone on this journey though, Riku, necromancers are not like your average mages. They do not care about life and will do anything to get their way."

"I will do anything to get my friends back. I don't need anyone to travel with me."

"Yes well I'm sure Axel and Marcel will go with you regardless after all you all are looking for people you care about."

Riku snorts, "Marcel might be but Axel just wants to keep Roxas from joining back with Sora."

"I just want to see my best friend again like you want to see yours, silver. Got it memorized?" Axel frowns a little, "And even if I have to hang out with the likes of you, I will do anything to help him."

"W...what should I do? I can't fight all that well but I do know some magic," Naminé says interrupting the fight that was about to start.

"Hmmm... you are the nobody of a Keyblade master so I'm sure you can do a lot more then you think. Maybe you should go as well; but there is the problem of you not having a weapon..."Merlin trails off.

Aerith smiles, "I'm sure Yen Sid can help her find a weapon."

"That is a great idea, Aerith my dear. Well it's decided Axel, Naminé, Riku and Marcel will be on their way to Yen Sid. Now to get you there..."

* * *

"So much rain..." Ryler says as they slice through more heartless and undead to find the portal that lead to Twilight Town. Roxas had tried to open one of his own but like he stated before his dark powers were not working as well as they used to so they were searching for anything that could lead them out.

"Don't worry it will stop as soon as we get to Twilight Town."

"Why are we going to Twilight Town again? I mean what's there besides Sea Salt ice cream and skateboards?"

Roxas smiles, "To see Yen Sid but to get there we have to get to the portal..."

"Which was left by Axel...then we have to leave the virtual Twilight Town to get to the real Twilight Town right?"

"Basically...somewhat complicated but..."Roxas trails off when a flash of light fills the area and they see what appears to be an angel with one bat wing and one angel wing floating in front of them.

"...you." Asylum appears in Ryler's hand and she runs forward only to be pushed back by a wall of light. The angel holds out his hand and a circular portal appears.

"That is for you darkling. You and the chosen one must travel to Yen Sid's tower. There you will find what you seek..."

"So you're helping us? And I didn't get to ask before but what's with your wings?" Ryler says gesturing towards its bat wing.

"This is what happens when you are tainted by the dark, darkling," It smiles some, "I have you to blame for that. We will fight again, darkling so you must get stronger and to get stronger you must train."

Roxas raises an eyebrow at Ryler who just shrugs at him.

"And you want us to train at Yen Sid's?" Roxas asks wondering how the angel and Ryler knew one another.

"He will help you find what you seek. Now go." The angel repeats and motions towards the portal.

Roxas looks at the angel warily then steps into the portal while Ryler makes Asylum disappear.

"What do you want from me?"

"You will find that out soon enough, darkling but for now just think of me as a friend."

"Friends usually have names, Mr. Cryptic." Ryler mumbles staring suspiciously at the portal. She didn't like the idea of the angel helping her nor the idea of going into a portal of light either.

"Call me Eae. Now please..."

"I'm going, geeze." Ryler walks to the portal and glances back at Eae, "It's nice to meet you...well not really but still you know what I mean."

Eae watches as the girl steps into the swirling light and smiles, "It's nice to meet you too."


	6. Dance Magic Dance

BRC: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any disney characters. I do own the original characters that appear though.

Chapter Six: Dance Magic Dance

Viviana smiles as her new minion looks around her castle, the castle she wished to share with Sora as soon as he woke up. She believed it was beautiful, made of crystal and glass, in fact most of the world was made of crystal and she was the ruler of this beautiful world.

Sure it hadn't always been like this, it had been normal and had appeared to be much like the world her sister now protected, Earth but Viviana took over the world in her quest for power. It was strange how different the two sisters were; one on the side of good who would do anything to protect a world which no longer believed in magic just because she had fallen in love with a human and started a family, the other on the side of evil just because she craved the light that flowed in the hearts of many. But Viviana didn't care much for her former family, sure she missed her son and wanted to meet her niece but she was more occupied with her quest for power.

The woman crosses over the gleaming floors, ignoring the undead creatures that roamed the halls and kept the castle clean with the help of her tainted magic. In front of her, Arden wandered around staring at the crystal flowers and crystallized animals that decorated the building.

"Do you like my home?" She says sliding an arm around his waist and leaning on his shoulder like a young girl would with her crush.

"Yes ma'am. It's beautiful. What is this world called?"

"It had not been named for many years until my late husband gave it the name Krystalia before he died. It is a world of light in which living crystals grow from the ground and magic flows through the veins of its people. Come. Let me show you around."

Viviana lead the younger man through many rooms and up and down the many floors of the crystal castle until they stopped in a large room with two thrones inside it. In the center of the room was a large stone that pulsed with white and black forms. The stone seemed to be broken, a large part of it was missing but Viviana didn't seem to notice or care. A man stood in this room, staring at the stone and as he got closer Arden could see that other then the strange forms, pictures flashed on the stone's surface.

"This helps me control the zombies I create. You see Arden my main magic is my Necromancy and this stone helps me control the undead that I create," Viviana smiles as she touches the stone, "It is a construct of darkness and light that allows me to control both heartless and my undead and fuel my magic. With it I can give people powers. I gave my friend Jakken here his shape shifting abilities"

The man called Jakken looks up and glares at Arden, his golden eyes glinting as he changes his hands into scythes.

Arden takes a few steps away from the man, hiding behind Viviana, "Really? Can you give me a stronger weapon other then this pathetic shield?"

Viviana nods, "I will give you some of my powers and with it you can control the light and make your own powers. I can't touch Kairi with my abilities but I have the feeling you will be able to, my dear."

"What do I need to do?"

"All you need to do is touch the Unity Crystal and its powers will flow through you. I warn you though it will be a very painful process."

"Anything for Kairi." Arden steps forward and places his hands on the stone and shivers at the cold surface. Soon his shivers turn into convulsions and he begins to scream as energy is poured into his body from the strange object.

"You didn't expect there to be no pain did you? There is always pain when you are getting stronger." Viviana laughs and watches as the younger male is tortured by the strange crystal, his body slowly beginning to glow.

* * *

Ryler did not like portals at all. They created a strange feeling in her body as if she was being squeezed through a tube of toothpaste and didn't quite fit out the hole. Then there was the whole spinning around, for who knows how long, until you are spit out of the portal ungracefully on to a hard surface.

Roxas sighs as he glances over at his companion who was currently throwing up her lunch a few yards away. He just shakes his head and looks around the small world then up at the Tower.

"He's at the top of the tower." He says when the girl walks towards him wiping her mouth.

"Hmmm....ew...I wish I had some mouthwash," Ryler blinks when a small bottle appears in her hand and looks up at the building while opening it, "I do believe he's watching us."

Roxas nods, "I get that feeling too... now to make our way up the tower."

Ryler spits out mouthwash and tosses it into the air, smiling when it disappears. She then summons her gunblade and heads towards the door. The two teens peek inside and the empty entrance is all that greets them.

"Well this is quite suspicious," the girl murmurs stepping into the room. Roxas follows behind her and looks around as well, opening a chest nearby and gaining a potion.

"Might as well head up the stairs..." Roxas points with the Oathkeeper and Ryler nods, jumping when the door closes on its own. The two begin their trek up the staircase into a portal where they are greeted with more staircases, slashing through the enemies that make their appearance. Ryler was pleased to see that there were no zombies in this world though the reason behind it escaped her.

As they continue up the stairs the sound of voices fill the air and the two stop at a large doorway. A familiar laugh fills the air and Roxas and Ryler glance at each other.

"That sounds like...Axel." Roxas says pushing open the door and inside they see Riku, Naminé, and Axel and a teenager with brown skin and a cap on his head talking to an aged man in a blue cloak and hat.

"Axel!" Roxas yells and finds himself being hugged by the red haired man.

"Roxas! I missed you so much!" Axel hugs his best friend then pulls Naminé into a group hug the two blond teens smiling brightly.

"Riku! I mean um Marcel!" Ryler grins at her friend and hugs the taller boy, smirking at the frown she gets from saying Riku's name instead.

"How does that girl know my name?" Riku wonders staring at the stranger, the scent of darkness seems to come from her and he finds himself growling under his breath.

"Where have you been Ry? I was worried." Marcel says ruffling the girl's hair.

Ryler points to Roxas, "I ended up at the World that Never Was with Roxas. It took us a while to figure out how to get here and we had to fight Bubba Zombie before an angel helped us and used its magic powers to transport us here."

"You hit your head didn't you?" Marcel says blinking down at his friend.

"Nope. I have a gunblade though!" Ryler holds out her weapon and smiles.

Marcel just holds out his staff then transforms it into a pair of tonfa, "I'm a mage. And I was talking to Master Yen Sid here about magic."

"Magic?" Ryler looks up at the man called Yen Sid who smiles.

"Welcome Roxas and Ryler. And yes, Magic. It is the reason you two were brought here and it is the reason the undead now plague the worlds. You see an organization called Rebirth has decided to absorb the light and souls from the hearts of the world. This corrupts the body and creates zombie like creatures with heartless like abilities."

"Wicked," Ryler blushes when everyone turns and looks at her, "Sorry, do continue."

"These monsters are not fully made of darkness but of tainted light because of the Necromancer that controls them is somehow a wielder of light. Unlike Xenmas, while she does want to control the worlds, she does not want the hearts of people but the light that is in the hearts. With this light she can continue to control different worlds until she has minions in all of them."

"Why did she take Sora and Kairi then?" Naminé asks clasping her hands in front of her.

Yen Sid frowns, "That I am not sure of but I believe the king, Donald, and Goofy are investigating this. I would guess because of their pure hearts. However with her powers, she is weakening the balance between light and darkness and extreme steps are being taken to keep the balance."

"Steps?" Riku asks softly, a silver eyebrow rising.

"Other creatures of light and darkness are being awakened across the lands to either keep the balance in place or continue to destroy it. Her bastardization of light is causing a war."

"And you want us to stop it? How are we going to do it without the keyblade master here?"

"With the children of Darkness and Light of course." Yen Sid points to Ryler and Marcel who blink back at him.

"Say what?" The two say in shock.

"You two were born with the powers of Light and Darkness inside of you. Ryler, the power of darkness runs through your veins; which is why your angel friend is following you around. Marcel well...he is the child of Viviana, the Necromancer that is wielding the tainted light. Unlike her though, his light is pure and wholesome." An image of Eae and an image of a woman with long white hair wearing a black cloak appear in the air.

"What? You have to be lying, my mother died years ago!"

"I suppose that is what Ryler's mother told you correct? And do you know why she told you that?"

Marcel shakes his head slowly, staring at the image of the woman with wide eyes.

Yen Sid smiles, "That is because Sadira, Viviana's younger sister, is your aunt and was watching over you after your mother started to rise in power on her world. Your aunt and your father have kept you safe on Earth, keeping your light pure. They had to say your mother died because they didn't want you to know that she had become corrupted."

Ryler stares at her best friend, stunned. The boy she had known most of her life was her cousin and her family wasn't even from Earth. She had thought being transported into Kingdom Hearts was bad but this new information was seriously messing with her head.

"This isn't making sense. How could my mother be evil if she wields the power of light? And why would Sadira keep this from us?"

"Light can become tainted and used for evil just as darkness can be used for good. You all have heard of the Ying Yang symbol correct?" Yin Sid makes the image of a Yin Yang appear floating in the air. The two sides disconnect from each other and float separately, spinning around in circles.

The group nods slowly.

"Well that smallest bit of darkness in the light can eventually taint it causing the wielder of light to become unstable and tainted especially if they use magic. The smallest bit of light in darkness can also make the user good."

"But where do the heartless come in at? This woman has to be wielding darkness somehow to be able to control the heartless." Riku says.

Yen Sid shrugs with a sigh, "That I am unsure of. I believe that she has other people on her side that are able to control heartless. I'm guessing one of them is a strong mage and is probably the one that is keeping Sora and Kairi locked away and unable to use their keyblades."

"And you expect me to let two strangers and two Nobodies help me get my friends back?" Riku scoffs, "And the strangers happen to be related to the person who took them. You have to be kidding me. I can do this on my own."

"I wouldn't want to help you anyway." Ryler mumbles softly, rolling her eyes.

"So this woman, Viviana, has started a war between creatures of darkness and creatures of light because of the use of her magic and she is somehow going to use Sora and Kairi in her plan to get control over the universe," Naminé says slowly, "And you want us to stop her somehow?"

"I do not know how you all are going to manage but you have the tools to fight in this war. You just need to trust in each other and in yourselves. I'm sure your hearts will guide you."

Ryler frowns, biting at her bottom lip, "Fine we'll help. None of this makes sense, but my mom wanted me to help for some reason and I trust her judgment. But...I'm not sure how we can help though."

Yen Sid nods, "The keyblade will guide you through these dark times and you have two keyblade wielders to aid you. But I have the feeling you all will need a little extra assistance..."

He snaps his fingers and what appear to be three fairies appear.

"Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, please take Ryler and Marcel here to get outfitted for their journey while I bestow gifts on Riku, Roxas, Axel and Naminé."

The three fairies bow then smile at Ryler and Marcel before pulling them into the room next door.

* * *

Merryweather floats around Ryler with a frown on her face, "Young ladies should not wear such...horrible clothing."

Ryler looks down at her outfit of ripped jeans and a t-shirt worn with a pair of turquoise high tops and her hoodie, "I like my clothing."

"Yes well...I think you could use a more feminine taste." A light flashes and Ryler was now wearing a pink princess dress.

"HA!" Marcel says grinning from his spot now wearing robes and a wizard hat.

"No." The fairy tries again and this time Ryler was wearing a green skirt, "Hmm...not green. Girls, help me out here."

Flora and Fauna float over and all three of them hold up their wands red, green and blue lights floating above them. Marcel and Ryler back up towards the door only to be blasted with the light.

"You know I'm starting to hate light. I really am," Ryler mumbles rubbing at her eyes then looking at Marcel, "Nice dude."

The boy wore a pair of black arm warmers with a blue hooded shirt that had a black dragon on the back. His pants were baggy and black and orange in color with numerous chains and things hanging off of them and his shoes were a pair of black and orange high tops. His hair had gone back to its natural black coloring but a small spot of blue was in the front of it while a gold pendant hung from his neck that was shaped like a leopard's head. His staff was strapped to his back with a leather holder.

"Uh...you're wearing bling...gay."

"Shut up, at least I'm not wearing a skirt." Marcel grins when the girl squeaks and looks down at herself.

Ryler wore a pair of turquoise fingerless gloves with black heart buttons on them and her white hoodie over a turquoise tank top that showed off her pierced bellybutton, the ring having changed into a piece of silver with a small wolf on it. A somewhat short pleated white skirt was worn with a pair of black knee high socks while her shoes were the same as before. There was a pair of goggles around her neck and her long hair was in a ponytail, held back by a white ribbon while her white bangs fell into her face. There was also a leather holder that went across her chest and held her gunblade on her back.

"A skirt. Really? But...I can't fight zombies in a skirt." She murmurs tugging on the fabric. She was happy to see that her necklace was still in place but her new outfit showed more skin then she would have liked.

"Every young lady should wear a skirt. You should have no problem fighting zombies in it while still being a lovely young lady." Flora says smiling.

Ryler fidgets from the breeze she felt, "I don't like the breeze around my privates..."

Marcel rolls his eyes at the girl, "Thank you all for your generosity."

Fauna curtsys then flies around them, "Your clothing shall help control the abilities that you might have though it won't give the girl the ability to learn much magic."

"I don't have magic...oh yeah I gave that up didn't I?"

Merryweather nods, "We cannot sense the ability to learn magic in you but we do sense courage in you. Your cousin here is the stronger mage; however, we did give you both something extra."

"What's that?" Ryler mumbles snorting at the mention of courage.

"The ability to each summon a creature to come to your aid. This creature is your guardian and is based on your inner strength. They will help you along this journey. You just have to figure out how to summon them and how to use them which will not be easy." Flora says touching their shoulders.

Marcel nods and smiles, bowing some, "Thank you once more."

Ryler grins, "Yeah, thank you."

"Be safe you two and bring Sora and Kairi back safely."

The two nod and walk out of the room where they see the others staring out the window at a black and silver Gummi ship.

"What is that?" Marcel asks looking out the window as well.

"It is a gift from Cid and Merlin it seems. They wanted to help us on our journey..." Naminé says softly.

Ryler noticed that the other female seemed to be holding a gigantic paint brush and was now wearing a different outfit. The girl wore a white shirt with a light blue sleeveless hoodie over it. A short blue skirt was worn over a pair of white shorts showing off her legs and a pair of blue and white tennis shoes was on her feet. A blue flower shaped barrette was in her hair and blue ribbons were wrapped around her arms and tied at her wrists.

Riku had a new outfit as well and was wearing a sleeveless black shirt with a hood and white arm warmers. His pants were still baggy but were black with yellow bands on them not unlike Sora's. A pair of white angel wings was designed on the back of his shirt and his shoes were the same. To Ryler's amusement his long hair was pulled back into a ponytail. A silver choker with a pendant shaped like a certain star shaped fruit was worn around his neck.

"Awesome." Marcel says grinning at the girl and Ryler notices that her friend, she couldn't think of him as her cousin yet, seemed to be blushing a little.

"Marcel and Ryler, I know this all must be shocking and new for you but the wielders of the keyblades need your help. You two must restore balance."

"How?" Ryler asks frowning.

"That I cannot tell you. You must figure that out on your own. I wish you all good luck." Yen Sid snaps his fingers and the group finds themselves inside the Gummi ship.

Axel grins and falls into a seat, "So who knows how to pilot this baby?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

BRC: Please review. I do not have a beta reader currently so criticism is welcomed. Thank you.


	7. Screaming

Chapter Seven: Screaming

She had been sleeping when she first felt it, the tickling. At first she thought it was Roxas's hair because the boy had been leaning on her while he slept, Axel's head using his lap as a pillow, but this was different, more unnerving. It was partially a tickling feeling combined with the sensation of something sliding across her skin, touching her, caressing her.

But when she looked down there was nothing there.

She noticed then that Roxas had shifted to the side, curled up on the seat of the Gummi ship beside her, his body not touching hers at all. And yet there was still something sliding up her neck, trailing up her chin and tracing her lips. She wanted to cry to pull away but she couldn't move. She could only sit there and stare straight ahead as whatever it was yanked her mouth open and pushed into her mouth. As it flowed down her throat, feeling strangely like both air and liquid at the same time, she could still feel something touching her face and it finally moved in front of her eyes but she could only see darkness.

Ryler then felt someone's hand touch hers and the darkness disappeared and she woke up gasping for air. A hand rubs her on the back and she looks to the side to see Riku staring at her.

"You were whimpering in your sleep. It was like you were choking but paralyzed...are you okay?" He whispers trying not to wake the others. Ryler guessed that the ship was on autopilot and could see that Roxas was curled up on the seat next to her with Axel still using him as a pillow and Naminé was sleeping silently with her head on Marcel's shoulder, the boy's cap keeping his eyes hidden from view.

"I ...don't know. It was so weird...that feeling. I didn't know what it was..." Ryler shivers, noticing that his hand was still rubbing her back.

Riku nods, "Nightmares are like that. How about you sit in the front with me and I go get you some water?"

"Thanks..." Ryler stands and sits in the front seat, using her jacket as a blanket and Riku returns soon with a bottle of water, still glowing from the blizzard spell used on it, and hands it to her.

"No problem...um..."He glances at her as he sits down.

"Ryler..."

"Weird name."

Ryler shrugs, "My dad gave me it as a nickname because I supposedly didn't like my real name and always said Ryler instead. So it stuck."

"What's your real..." Riku blinks when the girl suddenly glares at him, "I guess you really don't like your real name."

"It's stupid. Anyway...you can't talk about weird names either, Riku. But anyway what world are we searching first?"

" I set the course for a place called Halloween Town...It's one place I haven't been..."

"Awesome." Ryler smirks and Riku found himself feeling rather unnerved at the sight

Arden pants as he lies on the cold stone floor, Viviana staring down at him through her bangs. A bright smile graced her face but the strange look in her eyes made her look crazier then before. Arden wasn't scared though, he found that he was starting to enjoy that look.

"How do you feel, darling." The woman says softly as he slowly stands up and walks towards her.

"Better. I think...I will be stronger now right?" Arden says wincing when Viviana licks the trail of blood from his lips from where he had bit the inside of his cheek to keep from screaming any louder.

"Of course, much stronger than the others. You are after all my favorite of my warriors. Go on my love, try your new abilities out and then we shall meet Kairi."

Arden flexes his fingers and lightning travels out of his body and up and down his arms before forming two large hammers. He staggers under their weight but smiles all the same.

"What do you think? Better then that pathetic shield my sister gave you?" Viviana says leaning back in her throne while Jakken rolls his eyes, the pupils flashing red briefly.

"Much better. Thank you your highness." Arden smiles and takes a test swing only to fall a little causing Jakken and Viviana to laugh.

"you will have to become used to them and Jakken will here will help you as well as the others. But for now we shall go see the former Keyblade wielders' and you can finally meet your princess," Viviana waves her hand to Jakken who stands, "Take Arden here to meet his beloved princess of heart. I shall go see Sora again..."

Arden glances at the tall Asian man, raising an eyebrow as his dark blue Mohawk shifts into long black hair that ties itself into a ponytail. Jakken glares at him and flexes his muscles, the dragon tattoos on his chest shifting and roaring at the younger boy.

"Uh...hi."

"Shut up." Jakken glances at Viviana who just hums and blows a kiss towards them both before walking off. He rolls his eyes and motions for the boy to follow him.

The two males walk towards a door at near the thrones and end up going down a long marble staircase in to what appeared to be a long hallway, lit up by torches baring blue flames.

"What is this place?"

Jakken rolls his eyes once more, "You didn't think we would keep the keyblade wielder and the princess of heart in a dungeon did you. That is disrespectful..."

Arden decides not to comment on how disrespectful it was to kidnap them in the first place and follows the man down the hall, noticing that the doors were all made of glass and different people were in some of the rooms. He locks eyes with what appeared to be a half man half lion creature, his fur a mixture of blond and black and it seemed to be leaking wisps of darkness. The creature rushes towards the glass door with a growl only to be thrown back by a blast of energy.

"What was that?"

"That was Falke. Don't mess with him...ever. Unless you want to have your both your spiritual heart and physical heart ripped from your body and eaten, which is fine with me." Jakken smirks and motions for him to continue to follow him down the hall.

"What is he?"

"He was one of Viviana's first experiments with the darkness. It didn't end well because she wasn't that good at controlling the darkness at the time but he has his uses." Jakken stops at a large door at the end of the hall and there Arden saw the girl he had fallen in love with.

Kairi was dressed in a long black dress and red elbow length gloves, her hair was tied back with a black ribbon and her feet were bare. She seemed to be staring off into space and when her eyes finally locked into his, Arden could see that they were glassy and that the whites of her eyes were now a grayish color.

"Kairi..."He touches the glass and she just blinks at him.

"What's wrong with her?" Arden says turning to Jakken.

"We aren't sure. She's been like this since we brought her here. She doesn't speak that much anymore but when she does she only says two names: Sora and Riku."

Arden frowns, his eyes flashing with lightning, "Well she'll be saying only my name soon enough."

Jakken smiles, "Attaboy. You'll fit in here rather nicely. Why don't you say hello to the princess?"

Arden smirks when Jakken unlocks the door, watching as Kairi backs up towards a wall, "Hello Princess...My name is Arden. I've been wanting to meet you for so long..."

Jakken smiles and hums a song he had heard on Earth as the girl begins to scream, the same song that Viviana had been humming earlier.

'Simple and Clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight...'


End file.
